This week we noticed a press release from Sears Canada promoting their “Green Up/Power Down” sale, complete with sale prices. The release touts all the ENERGY STAR and Greenguard Certified products as eco-friendly choices, many of the brands are exclusive to Sears. Now, we suppose, if you’re in the market for a new lawnmower, washing machine, or other household appliance, it is better to buy the one that saves energy, reduces pollution, or skimps on water. But the sale made us wonder if Sears Canada is making a real commitment to sustainability or if this is just another example of greenwashing.

Turns out Sears Canada is doing more than finding a new way to market yet another sale, they have been working on improving their environmental record for a few years. Sears Canada is approaching the issue on three fronts:

• Make it easier for customers to “Live Green,” reduce their energy bills, and create a healthy home with an assortment of products that are better choices for the planet
• Reduce the environmental impact of Sears Canada operations, including recycling 90 percent of their waste and reducing energy consumption 20 percent by 2013
• Nurture a culture of sustainability with Sears Canada associates, customers, and the communities in which they operate

What we find interesting is that Sears in the U.S. is not following suit. Perhaps this is because 80 percent of Canadians are looking for ways to reduce their environmental footprint. While recent polls south of the border find that Americans are less concerned about climate change than just a few years ago. So, it just makes economic sense to be greener in Canada.

To serve their Canadian customers, in addition to putting some of their eco-friendly items on sale, Sears is offering a variety of eco-friendlier products throughout the store and tagging them as “Live Green.” There are energy efficient products such as tankless hot water heaters, to PVC-free choices for the home, items made from renewable resources, and water-saving devices. For example, Sears Canada offers Little Footprint pillows, made from recycled water bottles with covers made from unbleached cotton, to a new apparel collection called Attitude which incorporates Lenzing Lyocell and another line of organic cotton tees and dresses from the Jessica brand; to Portico’s line of certified organic cotton towels and bedding.

Plus, Sears Canada is a sponsor of World Wildlife Fund Canada’s (WWF-Canada) Earth Hour which encourages people around the world to turn off all their electrical appliances and lights for one hour each March in support of climate change action. Over the weekend, they turned out the exterior and any non-essential indoor lights.

Perhaps we were too quick to judge Live Green as more greenwash marketing. There does seem to be more here than just a springtime sale. What do you think? Post your comments below.

protecting profits in a water scarce world

Thera N. Kalmijn and R. Paul Herman have come up with the 10 R’s of Water Management and shared their plan with everyone in two parts (part 1 and part 2). You might think this is just overreacting by a couple of treehuggers, but you’d be wrong. They remind us that in 2001, hydroelectric power shortages forced the shutdown of aluminum plant smelters in the Pacific Northwest, resulting in the loss of 8,000 jobs. So, developing and executing on a water management strategy is just plan ole’ fashioned good business.

companies vague on water-scarcity risk, investors say

We know that water management is critical to avoid production interruption. So investors are keen to know the water-related risks faced by specific companies, but that doesn’t mean the information is readily available. A recent report by CERES shows that this information is often “boilerplate and vague.” A Business Week article goes into detail about the report including some of the companies CERES found to be most transparent with their water-risks.

water at the core of climate change

Alister Doyle, an environmental correspondent with Reuters, puts it quite plainly: “The main impact of climate change will be on water supplies.” Unlike many articles we read, Doyle suggests that conflict and disease can be avoided if we just learn from past successful examples of cooperation. Water shortages on the Indus River resulted in cooperation between India and Pakistan and Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia’s set up the Mekong River Commission. With up to 250 million people facing water shortages, it’s good to know that conflict is not guaranteed.

australia’s “top end” too dry to become food bowl

Imagine a place that gets billions of gallons of rain each year, but still can’t sustain agriculture. That place is northern Australia. According to Reuters, farmers and politicians had planned on converting this area into a “food bowl for the world.” However, topography, weather, and climate change mean that much of the water is for not. You see, the rain comes during a few months and the rest of the year is completely dry. During those wet months, most of the water runs quickly out to sea or evaporates quickly when the rain stops. Looks like the Aussies will have to find another way to make the most of this region.

TEDsters answer the question…

The folks with PUR are hanging out with all the big thinkers this week at TED and asking, “If water could talk, what would it say?” And to answer the question, you’ll have to check out PUR’s photo gallery. The extra cool part is you can “like” the album or Tweet it and PUR will donate 10 liters to those in need. Come on, click the link and make clean water happen for someone who would otherwise be without.

It may not occur to you as you pour that glass of Chardonnay, but it took a lot of water to create that six ounces of deliciousness. For example, in California, it can take 75 gallons of water to grow the grapes for one gallon of wine in the North Coast region and as much as 430 gallons for a vineyard in the Central Valley. And that’s not the end of the water use. Once the grapes are harvested, barrel and tank washing at the winery consume another six gallons of water for every one gallon of wine.

Fortunately, there are forward-thinking wineries already looking for ways to recycle the water. Last week, Jackson Family Wines (you may know their Kendall-Jackson brand) announced they have a new water recycling program that is delivering substantial savings. They found that by recycling, they reduced water consumption 70 percent and saved money on energy too. According to the press release, they expect to save six million gallons of water, 133,000 KWh of electricity, and 73,000 terms of natural gas each year just at their Kendall-Jackson winery.

Jackson Family Wines believes that if just 35 percent of the California wineries adopt these practices, California would save “as much as one billion gallons of water annually.” That’s over 11,000,000 person days of water.

We know we don’t want to see wine prices skyrocket as water scarcity increases; this is just the kind of innovation that can give us wine and water.

photo credit: Jackson Family Wines

Historically, Wal-Mart hasn’t exactly been the poster child for social responsibility, but that may soon change. As we reported last week, Wal-Mart announced plans to provide sustainability labels for every single product in their stores. The company is pioneering a “sustainability index,” which weighs several environmental and social factors, including carbon footprint, packaging, water use, waste, and life cycle of a product. The big box retailer will work with NGOs, universities, scholars, suppliers, and government agencies to develop a global database that measures the complete life cycle of a product and passes that information on to the consumer in a standardized, easy-to-read label.

Needless to say, the initiative is an enormous undertaking, but one that could set a new standard for accountability. Ironically, Wal-Mart’s complete omnipresence—which has been so heavily criticized in the past—may be the very factor that makes this program a success. Wal-Mart’s long-term plan is for other major retailers to adopt the index. The method will evolve into a universal measure to evaluate the sustainability of any given product. Wal-Mart may very well be the only chain large enough to pull it off.

Wal-Mart has proposed a five-year timeline for executing this project, outlining three key steps: First, they’ll send out a survey to 10,000 retailers to evaluate the company’s own sustainability. The second phase will be actually building the database. And although Wal-Mart will initially foot the bill for this project, they’re hoping to partner with major technology companies to execute the database portion. The final phase will be delivering information to consumers.

For a complete report on Wal-Mart’s plans, read through their fact sheets and watch videos of last week’s sustainability summit.

What do you think of the new initative? If you’re not a Wal-Mart shopper now, would this get you into the store?